


Wrecking Ball

by leggyman



Series: MCYT One-Shots / Short Stories [7]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But then doesn't!, ERET SUFFERS QUITE A BIT, Eating Disorders, Eret has a bad time, Gen, General Trigger Warning, Hurt/Comfort, IT'S A LOT AND I AM DUMB SMOOTH BRAIN, Isolation, Loneliness, Not Canon Compliant, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I MISS ANY SUPER IMPORTANT TAGS, Self-Harm, Sleep Deprivation, THIS IS KIND OF A LOT, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:22:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27625345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leggyman/pseuds/leggyman
Summary: The castle gets lonely and boring, and Eret finds a solution
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: MCYT One-Shots / Short Stories [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000011
Comments: 9
Kudos: 281





	Wrecking Ball

**Author's Note:**

> Y'ALL, SOME TOPICS ARE VERY TRIGGERING IN THIS. PLEASE READ THE TAGS

The empty castle could get quite lonely at times, with wool flamingoes being the only form of company King Eret received. He didn’t exactly have anyone to go to, having betrayed L’Manburg’s residents a long time ago, and holding practically no trust for the SMP members. To be quite honest, Eret was beyond bored. He’d been wasting away in the stone walls for far too long.

He’d rapidly abandoned most kinds of self-care for the fun of it all. His sleep schedule could be best described as a disaster, usually going a couple of days without sleep until he crashed or sleeping for fifteen hours straight, depending on his mood. He’d skipped plenty of meals throughout his days, and hydration was placed on the backburner. As fucked up as he knew it was, the discomfort was a nice change of pace. It was treated like a challenge at some points - how long could he go without needing it?

After all, there was no one there to stop him.

Eventually, the avoidance wasn’t enough. He needed some other way to get his kicks, and the castle was as empty as ever.

The very first time he did it, it was completely on impulse. He’d been wandering the halls, shuffling his feet on the floor as he kicked a lone pebble, and suddenly the urge for something other than the boring numbness arose. Without any sort of prior thought, he wound back his fist and punched the wall. He could feel his knuckles split open, and a shockwave of pain jolted through his wrist. He pulled his hand back and shook it out, all the while smiling.

Now that was the fun he was looking for.

It somewhat became a habit, usually his right hand getting the abuse but occasionally using his left when he’d busted up the other too recently. He’d wait just until everything almost healed and do it again. Feel the skin split open again and get that same shot of dopamine he’d gotten the first time.

He needed something to do in the meantime, while both of his hands were objectively too destroyed, even for his standards. He’d picked up playing with fire, burning old paperwork in the garden or in a completely stone room (he wasn’t an arsonist, he was simply looking for a good time). He couldn’t resist wondering what it felt like, and didn’t even try to resist the temptation to touch it. He touched the end of the torch, pulling his hand back with a hiss when it burned. A small smile appeared on his face and he stuck his palm back into it, leaving it there until he couldn’t handle it, The raw skin hurt when he clenched his fist, and that soon became a habit, too. He didn’t stop at his hands, and worked his way up his arms as well. It hurt all the same, but boy was it fun.

He fell deeper into the bad habits he’d started to develop, forgetting all about how lonely he was in the cold, empty castle. At least he wasn’t bored anymore.

Everyone had assumed that Eret had run away and was living peacefully in a village somewhere. They hadn’t seen any evidence that he was still in the castle, cobwebs gathering in the entrance and darkness coming from every pane of glass. Everyone had also long since made up, eventually realizing the war wasn’t worth all of the bullshit they had to go through. They cared about each other too much to be fighting. They’d missed the enemies and just decided to drop it all. No more lines. Do whatever the hell you want.

Niki, Tommy, Tubbo, and Wilbur had all been taking a walk around the area when the first disturbance from the castle was seen. Tubbo was the one who spotted it - there was light coming from one of the windows.

“Hey, guys?” he raised the alarm, pointing to the mystery light once he got everyone’s attention. Niki let out a slight noise of confusion, while Wilbur and Tommy just looked lost. “Should we go investigate?”

They collectively decided to check it out, wondering if it was a new member who decided to take up temporary residence in the seemingly empty building. What they actually found was the last thing they could’ve expected.

Wilbur had knocked, only to be greeted by the man they all had thought fled. He was ghostly pale, making the dark bags under his eyes only more pronounced. His skin was sunken, and he was noticeably skinnier than they’d seem him ever be (even when they’d been low on supplies in L’Manburg). His hair was unkempt and had been choppily trimmed at some point. His clothes were dirty, torn in some spots and wrinkled in even more, like a crumpled sheet of paper that had tried to be flattened again. His usual sunglasses were missing, showing off the empty white eyes. What was most concerning was the visible burn marks running over his arms, and his hands, one of which was half-assedly bandaged and the other out in the open. Both were bruised and cut up, and his right hand was sluggishly bleeding from the knuckles. Despite his horrid appearance, Eret had a smile on his face.

“Holy shit, big man,” Tommy muttered in shock, never one to beat around the bush.

“I wasn’t expecting you all,” Eret replied, his usual low voice scratchier than usual.  _ Lack of use _ , Niki’s mind helpfully supplied.

“We didn’t know you still lived here,” Wilbur said, trying to sneakily peek behind him into the entranceway.

“Can we… can we come in?” Tubbo hesitantly asked, receiving a nod and Eret stepping aside to let them all in. Niki gathered Eret into her arms, ignoring the mess that he was. He tensed at first, before loosening up and gently setting his chin on top of her head. Niki cringed at how she could feel his spine and ribs through his shirt.

“I’ve missed you,” she stated, face still buried into his chest, and Eret hugged her back. He bent down to lean his face on her shoulder, and she immediately noticed that he was crying. He was gently shaking in her hold, and at some point, she led him into the castle’s kitchen, where the rest of the group had already gathered. They took up residence at the table, Niki not letting go of his hand. She was holding it softly, hyper-aware of his injuries.

“What in the hell happened, Eret?” Wilbur asked, voice soft in concern.

“It gets pretty boring in here,” the scratchy voice said, lightly chuckling at the end.

“You look like you tried to beat the Wither with a stick only,” Tommy deadpanned, receiving another chuckle from the man in question.

“No, just a few bricks.” Tubbo and Tommy both blinked owlishly in confusion, as Wilbur and Niki gained a somber look and gazed upon him in sympathy.

“Oh Eret,” Niki muttered, looking at his blank eyes. He smirked, uncomfortable with all the worry thrown in his direction, “I wish we’d known you were still here.”

Eventually, the word was spread and a plan was formed. A large group of people, some having been close to him and others simply wanting to help, decided to clean up the castle and occupy some of the empty rooms for a bit. Get him re-acquainted to company on his own territory, as well as be able to make sure he was taking care of himself.

Niki and Tubbo had mostly taken up the roles of keeping him physically healthy, with Niki cooking and Tubbo neatly changing his bandages at regular intervals. Everyone assisted in keeping him busy, always having someone with him, exchanging stories from what Eret missed and playing cards to pass the time. The rest of the group worked on making the castle more presentable and homey, placing torches in the empty rooms and sweeping the dusty floors. They were all horrified and saddened by the number of bloodstains they had to clean off of the brick walls.

They couldn’t believe he’d been suffering right under their noses for months.

Each individual worked decorations and their own personal touches into the space. It was a group effort, but eventually, the castle felt less cold and more like a home. Eret got better both physically and mentally, filling out and beginning to take care of himself again. Sometimes he’d itch to punch a wall or stick his arm in a bonfire, and when that happened, he always had plenty of people to take his mind off those thoughts. 

It took even longer before everyone returned to their own homes, but this time, Eret came with. He moved into a small cabin that Fundy had built in the heart of the town, re-joining average society.

He was never lonely after that, and he’d never punched a wall or played with fire again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! PLEASE let me know if I missed any tags. This was inspired by listening to "Wrecking Ball" by Mother Mother on loop for hours.
> 
> Once again, thanks for reading! Please leave comments with ideas for more one-shots if you'd like, or just general comments/suggestions. I run on kudos, comments, and the fact that Philza is now on the SMP exclusively :-)


End file.
